Head Coverings In the News

The following are the news article that I came across concerning the views of head coverings, by men and by women, in North America. As always, the views that you read here are not mine - I'm just a high school level "reporter", alerting those interested in "those headcoverings", to what is going on in the world around us. Just a paragraph of each article is included here.

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SIKH head covering
USMLE Changes Turban Search Policy
Friday 30th of January 2009
The Sikh Coalition
The Panthic Weekly

Philadelphia, PA - The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) has agreed not to ask Sikh examinees to remove their turbans for security screenings at test centers. The Sikh Coalition applauds the NBME for understanding and responding to the concerns of the Sikh American community.

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MUSLIM head covering
The Fuss About Covering Up
Published On Sunday, February 01, 2009
By NAFEES A. SYED
The Harvard Crimson

In December 2008, Judge Keith Rollins’ arrest of Lisa (Miedah) Valentine at the Douglasville Municipal Court for wearing her hijab, a religious covering, sparked national debate over whether or not Muslim women and others should be allowed to wear their symbols of faith in the courtroom. As absurd as it is that this kind of debate even occurs in the United States—a country supposedly founded on the principle of religious freedom—the real issue at hand is not one of mere “tolerance.” Valentine and others’ right to wear religious head coverings in public should not even be a point of contestation.

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MUSLIM head covering - Niqab/face covering
Order to take off niqab pits law against religion
Woman to appeal ruling forcing her to unveil face in sexual assault trial
Feb 02, 2009
Betsy Powell
The Toronto Star

A judge has ordered a Toronto woman to testify without her niqab at a sexual assault trial – raising the thorny issue of whether Muslim women should be allowed to appear as witnesses wearing a veil that covers everything but the eyes.

The issue is a collision of two rights, pitting religious freedom against the right of a defendant to face an accuser in open court.

See also:
Muslim woman must testify without veil: Ont. judge.
By Matthew Coutts, National Post, February 2, 2009

OPINION: Veils and justice
Faisal Kutty, TheStar.com, Feb 04, 2009

Once again, please note, face covering is not the same as head covering, even when done "for modesty's sake". Only the use of a large head covering material to cover one's chest area is asked for in the Quran. These stories are important because they touch people's opinions on the definition and the value of religious freedom versus the value of "the law is the law".

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PAGAN head covering
(I hardly ever hear about these head cover-ers, so when I saw this in the news, it piqued my interest again. I still am not sure the reasoning behind their coverings; if you know, please post a comment below.)

Into the light: Pagans observe passing of winter, impending spring
By Lindsay Melvin (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Monday, February 2, 2009
From the article:

Wiccans, Druids, Asatru and Shamans displayed their diverse spirituality with Scottish kilts, Egyptian symbols and Native American names.

In a velvet cape with a red veil of hair covering one eye, Midtowner Trena Poland identified herself as a Druid.

"Half the time I get 'Oh, you're Jewish.' And the other times I get 'Oh, you're a Satan worshiper,'" she laughed.

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An encore performance for hat?
From News Services
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Aretha Franklin’s inauguration hat —- the one with the heroic bow —- may be on its way to the Smithsonian Institution.

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Let us not be among the "silly women", who are "always learning, and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." But let us be discerning and thoughtful, in this world where everything is made into a shade of mushed up gray, knowing why we do what we do, and able to give an answer to those who ask of us.